Geneva | Reuters — Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal to ban factory farming in a referendum on whether the wealthy country’s strict animal welfare laws need to be tightened yet further. The government’s VoteInfo App showed a provisional result of 62.86 per cent of votes against the proposal, put to a referendum under […] Read more
Swiss reject initiative to ban factory farming
Voters back narrowly back rise in women's retirement age to 65
Funding available for animal welfare initiatives
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is spending nearly $3 million to enhance animal welfare and tracking. Animal Health Canada in Elora, Ont. will receive up to $2.9 million to update national livestock codes of practice, including the code for safe and humane transportation. The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency in Calgary will receive up to $52,140 to […] Read more
Massive new feedlot working out as planned, says owner
A lot happened while Kevin Serfas built his new operation but he says you must take the long view
Reading Time: 4 minutes The cattle business is never boring. The last two years have produced many hair-raising situations for Alberta’s cattle producers and that’s been the case for feedlot owner Kevin Serfas, who has undertaken a massive feedyard expansion. Based in Turin, about 50 kilometres north of Lethbridge, he runs Serfas Farms, a sizeable grain farm and feeder […] Read more
Icahn drops proxy fights with Kroger’s, McDonald’s
Reuters — Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is dropping a proxy fight focused on the treatment of pregnant pigs at Kroger Co. after losing a similar fight with McDonald’s Corp last month, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. “I congratulate the McDonald’s team on their victory in this proxy engagement and, after much contemplation, given the […] Read more
Alberta researcher wins animal care award
Reading Time: < 1 minute Research scientist Brenda Ralston is this year’s winner of the Award of Distinction from Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC). Currently at Lakeland College’s Vermilion campus, Ralston began her 35-year career with the province, first as a district agriculturist and then as a beef specialist while earning a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and PhD, the latter […] Read more
Learn to manage disease threats in livestock
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Animal Health Emergency Management project and its industry partners are offering a series of workshops on emergency responses to animal diseases. The three-part workshop series are based on handbooks created by the organization on topics such as “Emergency Management 101” and proactive disease management. “The one-hour sessions progressively build out important animal disease management […] Read more
AFAC and counties can identify livestock feed problems
The Alert Line is a confidential way to report animal welfare concerns in Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes This summer’s drought conditions haven’t affected the number of calls to Alberta Farm Animal Care’s Alert Line, but that could change as the weather worsens this winter. “I haven’t seen a huge jump in calls yet, but I think we’re going to be seeing some issues with feed and body condition after this drought,” said […] Read more
Britain facing mass cull of pigs due to butcher shortage
London | Reuters — Britain’s farming industry has warned that hundreds of thousands of pigs may have to be culled within weeks unless the government issues visas to allow more butchers into the country. An acute shortage of butchers and slaughterers in the meat processing industry has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and Britain’s post-Brexit immigration […] Read more
Being tense and temperamental may not be good for a cow’s health
The way cattle exit the chute could be an indicator of their chances of falling prey to a disease
Reading Time: 3 minutes Can your herd health improve if you know how to spot and cull the temperamental cattle? That’s what Diego Moya Fernandez is hoping to find out. “We are not trying to look for happy or sad cows,” said the assistant professor and researcher at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. “When I talk about temperament, […] Read more
Barn fires underreported — and far too common, says humane society
Most provinces, including Alberta, lack accurate stats, and that’s part of the problem, says official
Reading Time: 3 minutes Even animal death in a barn fire is one too many. But at first glance, it would seem Alberta has a reasonably good handle on them. A recent study found that during a five-year period (2015-19), Quebec had 141 barn fires and Ontario 121 — but there were just eight barn fires in Alberta. The […] Read more
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